Brake mechanism for railway cars



Oct. 27, 1925. A 1,558,461

P. B. CAMP BRAKE MEUHANISM FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed May 21. 1925 24 lnvenor:

4\ Perm-9,6. (a 72 Patented Oct. 27, 1925.

PERCY B. CAMP,

OF MAYIVOOD, ILLINOIS, AS'SIGN'OR T UNIVERSAL DRAFT GEAR ATTACHMENT 00., A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

BRAKE MECHANISM FOR RAILWAY CARS.

Application filed May 21, 1925. Serial No. 31,734.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PERCY B. CAMP, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Maywood, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brake Mechanism for Railway Cars, of which the following is a specification, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

This invention relates to hand brake mechanism for railway cars and has for its prin cipal object to provide a simple ratchet and lever mechanism that will permit the brake shaft to be wound and unwound. Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the disclosure proceeds and the description is read in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating a selected embodiment of the invention,

and in which 3 Fig. 1 is a plan view of a fragment of a railway car equipped with the brake mechanism made according to the invention;

on the lines 22, 3--3 and 44 respectively, and

Fig. 5 is an inverted plan view of the ratchet wheel.

In Figs. 1, 3 and 4, 10 indicates a frag ment of a railway car provided with a bracket 11 in which the upper end of the brake shaft 12 is journaled. The lower end of the shaft is journaled in a brake step 13 (Fig. 2). Above the bracket 11 the brake shaft is equipped with a ratchet wheel 14 having a hub 15 secured to the shaft. As shown, the upper end 16 of the shaft is polygonal in cross section and the hub is provided with a complementary bore. A rivet 17 inserted through the hub and the shaft serves to hold the parts against relative longitudinal movement. A flange 18 on the upper end of the hub 15 protects the brakeman from the rivet.

The bracket 11 projects laterally from the car and has a bearing 19 in which the shaft is journaled. Below this bearing a sleeve 20 is journaled to rotate freely on the shaft 50 and is supported in normal position by a collar :21 surrounding the shaft and secured thereto by a rivet 22.

The sleeve is equipped with a laterally projecting lug 23 on which a hand lever 24 Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are sectional views takenv is pivoted. This lever is bent at 25 to permit 1t to'assume an operative position, indicated in Fig. 1, or an inoperative position indicated in Fig. 4. In the latter position it extendsdownwardly along the shaft and in the former position it extends substantially at right angles to the shaft. Adja cent to the bend 25 the lever is forked and straddles the sleeve and the shaft, the pivot pin 26 being inserted through the two forks and the lug 23.

A pawl is pivoted on-trunnions 41 in a pocket in the lever 24 and has a toe 42 adapted to engage teeth 33 onthe lower side of the ratchet wheel 14 when the lever is raised to operative position. Opposite the toe 42 the pawl 40 is provided with a weighted heel 43, which serves to swing the toe 42 into engagement with the teeth 33, or permit it to clatter over those teeth, as occasion may require.

The bracket 11 is equipped with spaced lugs 27 and 28 inclined with respect to the car and receiving a pivot pin 29 by which a pawl 30 is mounted. The toe 31 of this pawl is normally thrown upward by a weighted heel 32 into engagement wit-h teeth 33 on the lower side of the ratchet wheel 14. The weighted heel 32 has a lateral projection 34 whereby it is easily engaged by one or more of the arms of the forked lever to permit the pawl to be forcibly disengaged from the ratchet when it is desired to release the brake.

When it is desired to apply the brakes, the lever 24 is raised from the positionshown in Fig. 4 to that shown in Fig.4, and moved from approximately the dotted line position A to the dotted line position B,

or any fraction of that movement that is convenient to the operator. While the lever is moving in a clockwise direction, the toe 42 of the pawl 40 engages the teeth 33 and forces the shaft to rotate with the lever. When the lever is moving in a counterclockwise direction, the toe 42 clatters over the teeth 33, while the shaft is retained against unwinding by the engagement of the toe 31 of the pawl 30, with the teeth 33.

When it is desired to release the brakes it may be accomplished by turning the lever 24 to a position in which one or both of the forks is opposite the weighted heel 32, or the projection 34 thereon, and moving it to the position shown in Fig. 4. Usually this movement may be effected by merely dropping it from the operative position.

lVhen it is desired to leave the brakes appliedthe lever 14: is swung approximately to the position shown at B in Fig. 1, and allowed to drop, when the forks will notstrike the heel 32, or the projection 34, and the toe--31 will continue to engage the teeth 33 and hold the shaft against unwinding.

It very frequently happens that the brake staff or step becomes bent or, due to the accumulation of rust or dirt, the friction between the shaft and its bearings is so great that the brakes will not properly release. For that reason means are, provided to permit the shaft to be forcibly unwound. This is accomplished by providing the lever 2a with a second pawl here shown as pivoted on a rivet 37 between a lug 36 and the side face of the long arm of the lever. Preferably a second set of teeth 38 is provided on the ratchet wheel and, in the present embodiment, these teeth are on the peripheral surface thereof. This pawl 35 normally retains the position with respect to the lever that is shown in Fig. 4, whether the lever is in operative or inoperative position.

hen it is desired to unwind the shaft the' pawl is manually thrown to the operative position shown in Fig. 1, and the lever is swung to the right in that figure and by the engagement between the pawl 35 and the teeth 38 the shaft is given a counter clockwise rotation. Then the lever is swung slightly downwardly, carried around to the left, raised again to reengagc the pawl with the teeth 38 in another position, and swung to the right again. By repeating this operation the shaft may be forcibly unwound and will permit the brakes to be properly released.

By merely dropping the lever 2e it will assume its inoperative position shown in Fig. a, and the pawl 35 will automatically take its inoperative position, also shown in that figure.

The lever 2% is provided with a. shoulder 39 adjacent to the free end of the pawl 35 when it is in operative position. This gives the pawl lateral support close to its engagement with the teeth 38, and thus relieves both the pawl and its pivot of excessive strain.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a hand brake mechanism for railway cars, the combination of a brake shaft, a ratchet wheel fixed to the shaft and having two sets of teeth thereon, a sleeve journaled on the shaft, a hand lever pivoted to the sleeve to swing between an operative position at an angle to the shaft and an inoperative position errtending along the shaft, a pawl carried by the lever for engaging one set of teeth to wind the-shaft and a second pawl carried by the lever to engage the other set of teeth to unwind the shaft.

in a hand brake mechanism for rail way cars, the combination of a brake shaft, a ratchet wheel carried thereby, a sleeve journaled on the shaft, a hand lever pivoted on the sleeve to swing between an operative position at an angle to the shaft and an inoperative position extending along the shaft, a pawl on the lever for engaging the ratchet wheel to wind the shaft, and a second pawl carried by the lever and adapted to be manually engaged with the ratchet wheel to unwind the shaft.

3. In a hand bra e mechanism for railway cars, the combination of a brake shaft, a ratchet wheel carried thereby, a sleeve journaled on the shaft, a hand lever pivoted on the sleeve to swing between an operative position at an angle to the shaft and an inoperative position extending along the shaft, a pawl on the lever for engaging the ratchet wheel to wind the shaft, and a second pawl pivotally mounted in the lever to be manually moved into engagement with the ratchet wheel to unwind the shaft and a lateral support on said lever for said second pawl.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature.

PERCY B. CAMP. 

